April 29, 1997 - State lawmakers on the House and Senate tax committees will be discuss proposals for financing a new Twins stadium…and It's a critical day for stadium supporters, because with less than three weeks left in the legislative session, they still have no politically viable plan to pay for a new ballpark.
April 30, 1997 - Ojibwe Band members had hoped to be spearing and netting fish on dozens of central Minnesota lakes by now. For seven years a group of tribes, led by the Mille Lacs Ojibwe, worked through the courts to restore fishing and hunting rights given them by treaty in the 19th century. It appeared the tribes would finally exercise those rights this spring. But a group of local landowners won an injunction earlier this month, halting the Indians' plans, at least for now.
May 1, 1997 - Bud Selig, Major League Baseball's acting commissioner, told state lawmakers the league wouldn't prevent the Twins from leaving Minnesota. Selig says the team needs a new stadium to remain financially healthy. Selig failed to fully endorse two elements many stadium supporters hope to see in a ballpark bill: financing with gaming revenues, and partial state ownership of the team.
May 5, 1997 - One of the most widely debated issues in the modern workplace is whether employers should offer domestic partner benefits. In Minnesota, local governments which have sought to include unmarried, same-sex partners in their health insurance plans have run into legal roadblocks. But in the private sector, where the competition is growing for talented workers, more companies and organizations are finding domestic partner benefit packages make good business sense.
May 12, 1997 - In today's Odd Jobs feature the man who puts the "international" in Rochester International Airport. Wes Niemitalo (NEE-muh-tell-oh) is the sole U.S. Customs Agent at the aiport - paid for by the city and the Mayo Clinic. He spends most of his day waiting to check in well-to-do overseas travelers coming in their private or government aircraft to the clinic for medical treatment. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe talked to a man who gets an inside look at the lives of some rich and famous patients.
May 13, 1997 - With a threat of a Governor's veto, both houses of the Minnesota Legislature have passed a bill increasing the state's minimum wage. A bill passed the House last week differs at the bottom-line with the measure which passed in the Senate today. But Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports conferees are expected to quickly iron out their differences: The Senate bill increases the state wage to the federal level, from 4.25 and hour to 5.15 an hour. The house version, increases it above the federal level, to 5.40 and hour. Conferees are expected to go with the lower of the two.
June 9, 1997 - Governor Carlson plans to call a special legislative session in to deal with the Minnesota Twins request for a publicly-funded ballpark. Carlson says he believes the Twins will leave if lawmakers don't approve funding before October, when the team can opt out of its Metrodome lease.
June 11, 1997 - Gary Gillette, baseball analyst and vice-president of Total Sports, comments on Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad making pitch to fellow baseball owners for permission to begin trying to sell or move the team…even as an offer to buy the team surfaced.
June 24, 1997 - Minnesota's 8th District DFL Congressman Jim Oberstar says airline officials should "clean-up their act" or the Congress will act. Oberstar is pushing legislation called the Airline passenger's bill of rights. Under the plan, airlines would be required to disclose their flight delay and cancellation policies. They would have to provide food and bathrooms during lengthy delays. The plan also calls for the airlines to double the payments passengers receive for lost luggage or for being bumped from a flight. Oberstar says he's encouraged by moves Northwest Airlines is making to respond to passenger complaints.
June 25, 1997 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reports that Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton says Minneapolis will put its money where its mouth is when it comes to keeping the Twins. Throughout the Twins quest for a new ballpark, Sayles-Belton has often said she wants the baseball team to remain in the city…bur much to the consternation of stadium supporters. Sayles-Belton has never committed city resources to the project. That changed when she announced a plan for acquiring and preparing a riverfront site for a stadium.